That means Romy, our other buff, lost her best friend. After a couple of weeks, we decided it was worth a try to find two or three buffs to see if she would appreciate having others of her breed for company.

They arrived today, and early indications are positive. Tonight the new buffs are in the annex where they can be next to the rest with a fence between. Tomorrow Lord willing we will continue introductions. Romy has cuddled up next to the annex. H,B and C have been giving the "I'm okay" wing flaps and noodling around the annex, eating, drinking, chatting. They had a little time outside by themselves and really enjoyed the tea garden.

More duckies They look lovely Amiga. Fingers crossed all the introducktions go well for you .

Click to expand...

Thanks, Lady R and duckyfromoz, right now I am in the living room listening to extended spurts of intense duckie chatter from downstairs. I am letting them talk it out. Seems to me they need to go through this phase. I would love it if all additions to the flock were quiet and mellow, but that is not how it seems to go. Actually, from what I have heard from some other duck people, this is going quite smoothly. I am very keen to see how Romy does with the other buffs. I wanted them for her as much or perhaps more than for me.

Right now I am with the ducks, as the chatter escalated into what might be a shouting match, at least between a few of the ducks. And little Carmella seems to be a spitfire, pushing her head between the 2"x3" gate, to nab at Romy. Nice (not).

I think I will hang a towel over the gate for tonight. I hung a towel over the shared fence section, too. Part of me wants to spend the night here to referee. Probably doesn't need to be done. It is one of those moments where the bliss is slightly overshadowed by the rough spot.

They are ducks, being ducks.

Also, I noticed the other day that five of the runners have green tinges on their bills. I have written before that bill highlights for my runners are like mood rings. When the bills have blue highlights, there is less fussing in the flock. When there are green-tinged bills, the crankiness level is elevated.

.....

Morning update 10/01

Happy new month!

Things are okay, and NOT miraculously lovely.

But the initial phase is proceeding normally.

Highlights:

Romy is being picked on by the runners sometimes, low-grade stuff, nothing nasty, mostly poking. She eats with them, swims with them, then sometimes they chase her around. Sometimes they chase each other around.

Romy is still part of the runner flock.

Carmella is a spitfire. So is Romy.

Romy and Carmella engaged in a little sumo wrestling this morning. The buffs were in one section of garden, runners in the other (by design). Carmella rushed at Romy who stood her ground. Breast to breast wrestling with some feather pulling ensued. I looked over and saw the runners all pressed against the fence, yelling "Romy and Carmella are having a fight! Romy and Carmella are having a fight!" Picture the crowd in a movie about Roman gladiators and you'll get the idea of the noise level.

Moments later, Carmella trotted over to Hazel and Bean, who had been watching quietly. Bean seems to want no part in drama (hurray). Hazel is one of the loveliest ducks physically and personality-wise I have ever met. Think Audrey Hepburn.

Romy took a drink, then went over toward the runner flock. We got her back with her runners, took the new buffs back into the basement pen, the runner flock went for a nice walk and then up to the day pen, and I had some yogurt.

By the way for those who don't know, the basement pen features a nine foot wide window, gets lots of fresh air most of the day most days, has an air purifier and I would happily (and have sometimes done so) sleep there.

Amiga I have just found this post, Congrats on your new ducks they are lovely, and so sorry about losing Michele I missed that post too. I am so excited for you all and hope they become a flock soon. I will now subscribe so i can keep up. Audrey Hepburn, I love her.

Amiga I have just found this post, Congrats on your new ducks they are lovely, and so sorry about losing Michele I missed that post too. I am so excited for you all and hope they become a flock soon. I will now subscribe so i can keep up. Audrey Hepburn, I love her.

Click to expand...

Miss Lydia, I had kept pretty quiet about Michele until the necropsy results came back. Partly I did that because I was so very sad and did not know what to write. Also I wanted to know what happened. I feel so helpless in regards to the peritonitis. Some ducks have hardly any symptoms, and you just don't start invasive testing of a duck for every off day. And the causes of peritonitis vary. Sometimes surgery helps, but often it is fatally stressful to the duck to do that. Even a needle aspiration of a belly that is not distended could puncture the intestine and cause peritonitis. I hate feeling helpless, especially when it comes to protecting the flock.

Oh, well.

So Romy and I were pretty shaken up with losing Michele and I thought she might appreciate some buffs. It's not the same, but it's all I can do.

Thanks, CalBells, they really are nice. Very shy compared to my runners and Romy, but sweet and cooperative. That Carmella, though. Wow.

Miss Lydia, I had kept pretty quiet about Michele until the necropsy results came back. Partly I did that because I was so very sad and did not know what to write. Also I wanted to know what happened. I feel so helpless in regards to the peritonitis. Some ducks have hardly any symptoms, and you just don't start invasive testing of a duck for every off day. And the causes of peritonitis vary. Sometimes surgery helps, but often it is fatally stressful to the duck to do that. Even a needle aspiration of a belly that is not distended could puncture the intestine and cause peritonitis. I hate feeling helpless, especially when it comes to protecting the flock.

Oh, well.

So Romy and I were pretty shaken up with losing Michele and I thought she might appreciate some buffs. It's not the same, but it's all I can do.

Thanks, CalBells, they really are nice. Very shy compared to my runners and Romy, but sweet and cooperative. That Carmella, though. Wow.

Click to expand...

I know the feeling of helplessness all to well, as most of us do. I'm happy for you that you were able to find Romy some friends and they will be best buds very soon. They never take the place of the ones we lose but they sure help ease the pain.